You found me
by artmatters
Summary: Leyton pregnancy complications. More inside.


A/n: This is my first fan fic which i dedicate to all those writers who i love reading their work. Reviews would be awesome. The story kicks off post 6.16 and ofcourse it

was inspired by the frays - you found me.

**  
YOU FOUND ME**

A lone tear drop found its way down her face as she lay staring at a small crack on the wall of their bedroom. Her appointment with her OB GYN was tomorrow mid  
morning for routine check up. It would be her second one without Lucas by her side. When she had gone for the first one, she hoped that Lucas would make a  
miraculous appearance like he had done during her first ultrasound but, he had not shown up.

She had cried her eyes out when she came home but stopped, blaming her emotions on hormones. She was physically and emotionally hurting inside but she didn't  
show it. She was after all being supportive, isn't that what was expected of her? The movie was already wearing Lucas down; he didn't need another weight on his  
shoulders

She wiped away the tears with the back of her hand and glanced at the clock on the bedside table. "11:47 PM" blinked back at her repeatedly. She stared hard at it almost hoping the clock would read three or four hours backwards. Nope, it actually moved to "11:48 PM" instead. She felt horrible inside, she was denying Luke a chance to go with her for the appointment but most of all, she was keeping the pain a secret from him.

She bit her lip as the pain seared again through her abdomen, holding her breath and saying a silent prayer. She had been so tempted to tell the doctor during the last visit about the pain but her internet research warranted that if the mother could still feel her baby move, then the pregnancy was okay but it was still vital to notify a doctor. Things had just been so great since their engagement and they were happy, she just wanted to hold onto that happiness for a longer time.

She quickly wiped away her tears and turned over in bed facing the wall when she heard the front door slowly open. Lucas tiptoed down the hallway not even bothering to put on the lights as he expected her to be asleep by now. _**Damn the movie, I haven't even had a proper conversation with her for the past four days, leaving early and back when she's already sleeping!**__. _He thought sadly. The casting had been done with but the hard part of the movie had just begun, shooting it. Being the producer and also the screen writer required him to be on set almost 24/7. At first, he was excited and pumped up at the idea of seeing his book come to life but working with that ass of a director, Julian, the long hours, casts who had endless questions, was slowly getting to him.

He pushed the door slowly and crept into their bedroom which was slightly lit by the bedside lamp on his side of the bed. She was lying on her side of the bed facing away from him. _**There she is, the love of my life and the soon-to-be, great mom to our kid.**_ He thought as he lovingly stared at her in awe and adoration, his eyes glazing. He didn't want to wake her up so he slowly started removing his clothing; the jacket went first followed by the shirt, shoes, trouser, leaving him in a t-shirt and boxers. He dipped slowly into the bed and pulled himself up to an almost sitting position on his side of the bed. He ran a hand through his hair and down to his week-old stubble. He glanced at the clock, "12:02 AM" it blinked. He made a mental note to shave the stubble in the morning as she disliked it when he left it out too long.

Suddenly he felt a slight shift beside him. "Hey," she cooed as she half-sat up and shifted so that she was resting her weight on her elbows.

His face lit up at the sound of her voice. He could almost feel the fatigue melt away. "Hi," he turned and leaned to give her a kiss. It was just a soft brush to her lips but it was what he had been missing the whole day, just a slight touch from her. "I'm sorry if I woke you up; I tried to be as quiet as possible."

"It's okay; I was actually waiting for you to get home before I slept." She said while pulling up the covers and lining up a pillow behind her back. "You left early this morning."

"Sorry about that, I didn't want to wake you up."

"I figured as much but you should have. I missed you." she tried her best not to sound sad although she knew he was one person she couldn't hide something from.

"There's a plate of food in the microwave, you can heat it up if you've not eaten." She said as she rested her head on his shoulder and slipped an arm over his torso.

"How is our baby?" he inquired gently ignoring her food offer as he pulled her closer to himself. He could sense when Peyton was distressed even when he was miles away. His guts were telling him something was up but he was having a hard time putting a finger to it. His heart rate picked up as he recalled the happenings that took place almost a month ago. He reached out to stroke her now well visible baby bump and hoped against hope that she was not keeping anything from him.

-Flashback-

_Lucas worked diligently on fixing the crib. The pieces of wood sprawled out in front of him on the sitting room floor. He had laughed inwardly when she had shown him her attempt at putting it together. He wouldn't dare laugh at her openly for the fear of facing a scorned hormonal woman._

"_Luke, didn't you tell me that I had done a good job with the crib?" she said as she placed a cup of coffee for him on a nearby table and sat down opposite him._

"_Yes, you did a good job but the screws were a bit loose so I had to tighten them" He said while choosing his words correctly to avoid any confrontation._

"_Are you by any chance insinuating that I'm not strong? Incase you didn't know I actually put it together twice"_

"_Sweetheart, don't put words into my mouth," he started to defend himself but stopped when he saw the playful grin forming on her face. "Oookay, you are very strong babe, but I think you might want to save that strength for the big event coming in a few months."_

_  
She swatted his back playfully, "Huh?! Good answer babe, we agree plus it's not everyday we get to watch you work shirtless." She said as she laid a hand on her stomach which was only slightly showing._

_  
His heart fluttered and he smiled broadly for two reasons. First, he always liked it, no actually loved it when she talked of "we" meaning her and the baby. Secondly, he loved to have that kind of effect on her. "I'm starting to think the crib thing was intentionally planned so you could get to watch me work on it."_

"_Ooh baby, that would make my day but as much as I love a shirtless you, I have to go meet-" she stopped talking suddenly, a small cry escaping her. She had been standing up slowly from the couch but stopped when a sharp pain shot through her stomach. She held her stomach and folded over in pain moaning out loudly. _

_  
Lucas was by her side in seconds, holding her as he gently pushed her back on the couch kneeling beside her. She winced in pain and clung onto his neck. His mouth was dry and he could hear his heart beating in his ears. He tried to talk but found no voice. He couldn't bring himself to look at her on fear of seeing the fright in her eyes. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out his cell phone dialing 911._

_  
The unfolding events took less than seconds but to Lucas and Peyton, it seemed like everything was moving in slow motion. Him concentrating on speaking on the phone while trying not to listen to her moans because he had to be strong, he had to be the one to save them. _

"_911, can I help you?"_

"_Yes, my name is Lucas Scott and my fiancée…well, she…she's in pain. Peyton, that's her name. She is pregnant. She's in pain, her doctor, he said that I should take her immediately to hospital if she had any pain…"he was rambling, his voice sounding unfamiliar to him. He hoped the person on the end of the line could sense his urgency and understood him given his short, mixed up sentences._

"_Well, sir, I need you to calm down and tell me your address."_

_  
He said his address almost spelling it out to the last letter. He gave more details on Peyton's condition to prepare the medics. He put the phone on speaker as instructed and placed it on Peyton's lap. Relief washed over him as the operator confirmed that a medic team was on its way. For the first time since he held her, he allowed himself to soothe her with assuring words knowing that he was not giving her false hope. He didn't realized that the only thing keeping her calm and sane was his presence beside her and how he was continuously rubbing huge circles on her stomach._

_  
Peyton was still in pain although it had subsided and was more bearable. Her eyes were tightly shut as in a prayer while her hands were still tightly wrapped around his neck, her head buried in his chest. "I can't lose this baby Lucas, I can't." she whispered for the first time. He felt her warm tears against his own skin which crushed him._

"_Sssssh, it's going to be okay, it's going to be fine. Hang in there. I love you." Was all he could muster to whisper back afraid that he would have cried if he had allowed himself to think of the worst that could happen to the baby._

_  
A huge relief swept over him when he heard the sirens of the ambulance down the street. He felt like running out to meet them but he couldn't leave her alone, so, with baited breath, he waited. After locating the house, the medics swarmed into his house taking over, running checkups for her vitals. He heard one of them explain that her heartbeat was irregular and therefore had to be taken in for further tests. _

_  
Peyton had been kept at the hospital for two days until she stabilized well enough to be released. She had been diagnosed with mild preclampsia which she was given medication for and advised strongly on avoiding strenuous activity and to return to hospital immediately she experienced the pain again. _

_  
Their friends welcomed them home with a mini surprise-get-well-soon party. They were happy with her release from hospital but not overly excited especially Peyton. Being the two broodiest people, who misery loved both their company, it was only understandable that they could not afford to be elated at the moment, as they still had a long uncertain road ahead of them until the birth of their child. So instead, they chose to have hope and keep the faith that their baby would be born with no further complications._

_  
Peyton had not experienced any pain since then, well, to his knowing. Sometimes, he felt like she wouldn't tell him even if she did experience any and that thought, scared him to his stomach._

-End Flashback-

He was interrupted from his deep and disturbing thoughts when he felt her rubbing huge circles on his chest. She must have been talking about something but he had been deep in thought and was not paying attention. He hated being this guy, who worked away from his family, well, soon-to-be family and when he came home, he was lost in thought or too tired. He sighed deeply.

"Hey, you sure are overworking yourself. I'm sure you've not heard a word I said because you are so tired." She said as she continued to rub his chest.

He was touched, she had not reprimanded him for zoning out on her, instead she blamed the long hours he was putting in. He should have felt grateful for her being such an understanding person but he felt bad, he actually felt like the scum of the world.

"I'm sorry, it's just been a long day." He limply replied the guilt eating away his heart. "How about you, how was your day?"

"It was okay, nothing out of the ordinary." She replied lying well through her teeth. "Had you eaten before, cause I could wait up for you to eat?"

He laid a kiss on her temple and shook his head. "Julian ordered us some take-aways so I'm good."

She scooted lower and laid her head on his chest and closed her eyes. He held her tightly more than usual. This could not make up for the lack of a proper dialogue between them but it would certainly assure her that he was there; he would always be there for her. He felt her shift her head up so he looked down and locked eyes with her. "I love you." She said simply and laid her head back on his chest.

He held his breath, "I love you too Peyton, always will." he softly replied after a while wanting to put a lot more meaning in those words than they usually did but falling short_.__** Tomorrow was a day he was looking forward to because he would be that guy that she needed him to be.**_ That was the last thought on his mind as he allowed himself to sleep.

-The next day-

He rolled over in bed hoping to reach out to her and pull her back closer to him as he did most mornings. He groped around and felt nothing but the coldness of the space she had occupied. He jumped out of bed calling out her name.

She answered immediately and he followed the voice to the kitchen. The sun was slowly rising streaming its rays through the kitchen window, casting an almost halo around her. She was seated at the table sipping a decaf and reading a pregnancy related magazine.

"Morning babe, you are up early." he leant down to kiss her, brushing his knuckles across her cheeks.

"Hey, Morning," she reciprocated the kiss. "I wanted to spend some time with you before you left. I brewed coffee for you"

"That's sweet and kind of you. Thanks." He grabbed a mug and poured himself coffee. He had switched to decaf so that it would be easier on her too. Being Peyton with her big heart, she had begged him not to but his mind was set. He sat opposite her and drank in his coffee and her features too.

"My shirt looks good on you." He grinned.

She rolled her eyes, "Why, Thanks. It's comfortable. None of my sleeping shirts fit me anymore."

With her hair cascading down her head, the morning light seeping through the window was giving her an angelic appearance. _**Beauty had never been given a better description**_, he thought. She was beautiful yes, but something was lacking. Then it dawned on him. He was suddenly hit by how she had changed; the pregnancy was already taking a toll on her. Pregnant women glowed; Haley had glowed, but Peyton was pale. Her emerald green eyes that he normally would stare lovingly into, lacked their sparkle. Instead of the steady gain of weight that was expected, she looked like she had instead lost the little weight she had gained in the first months. She was not okay and he had been to busy to notice it.

_**Lost and insecure,**_

Although he had lots of questions buzzing through his head, he did not ask anything. He already knew Peyton would lie and tell him that she was okay and everything was fine. She was putting him before herself which was adorable but not in this case. She had someone else above both of them to consider – their baby.

_**You found me, you found me**_

As he looked at her, he realized that it was time for him to step up, a chance to be the guy he had vowed to be. He surprised her when he suddenly reached across the table and took both of her hands in his bringing them closer to his lips. With a kiss on her knuckles, he excused himself off to the bedroom and made a phone call to a certain ass of a director.

After a while, he had returned to the kitchen to a very puzzled look on her face. "What was that all about?" she inquired as he sat back in his chair looking at him curiously.

_**Lying on the floor.**_

_**Surrounded, surrounded.**_

_**Why did you have to wait?**_

"I was making a call to Julian. I cancelled the shooting of the movie for the rest of the week because I have something more important to do." He took a sharp breath as he felt relief wash over him. He was doing the right thing and he was being that guy that she wanted him to be. "I'm taking you to your doctor's appointment."

"What, How did you know?" she sat upright so first, she almost knocked her cup of decaf on the table in shock.

_**Where were you, where were you?**_

"I found out coincidentally, a few minutes ago I realized that I had not spent good quality time with you since we started the whole movie thing." He continued. "When I came home last night, I could feel something was not right but I didn't want to push you to tell me. I kind of pushed that thought to the back of my head as insecurity. I was certain that you would tell me if you were not ok."

"Luke, I'm sorry, I was go-" she started off but he interrupted her.

"It's okay." He smiled to let her know that he was not mad at her. "I saw you properly for the first time in days and I knew something was not right. Then it hit me, you are not okay, you don't look okay. So, I decided to cancel the shooting to spend time with you and find out whats going on in your pretty head. When I was on the phone, my eyes were drawn to the calendar on the table on which today was circled and the words – _**Dr. APP 10 AM**_"

He did not have to ask why she had not told him about the appointment. Knowing Peyton all too well, she had probably considered that he would have been busy with the movie.

_**Just a little late**_

Tears sprang up in her eyes, threatening to roll down her cheeks. He was not mad that she had not told him, he was here and she loved him, that's all that she needed. She took his hands in her own and looked deeply in his eyes. "Thank you Luke, you found me, you always do." They could face it together, whatever life had in store for them and their unborn baby.

_**You found me, you found me**__._

PLEASE REVIEW AND TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK.


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